Fans compete to spend a day with the Stanley Cup

RIVERWOODS, IL: Discover Financial Services and the National Hockey League have launched the second annual “Day with the Cup” social media contest.

Last year, Discover, the official credit card of the NHL, ran a “kid-friendly” version of the contest, asking parents to submit videos online of their children playing hockey for a chance to spend a day with the Stanley Cup, said Matthew Towson, senior manager of community affairs and media relations at Discover.

Fans of all ages can enter the contest this year by submitting a photo and essay of 1,000 words or less describing why they should spend the day with the Stanley Cup, he added. Participants have until April 12 to post entries on Discover's Facebook page, and up to five days afterwards to vote on one of the top three entries.

“Facebook is the main engagement of this contest,” said Towson.

Discover and the NHL are both promoting the competition on their Facebook pages, and the companies are also leveraging Twitter to engage fans about the contest.

Susan Cohig, SVP of integrated marketing at the NHL, said Discover is making digital and social media a priority because “it is very immediate and actionable and people who are voting can really connect with the sweepstakes.”

The NHL is promoting the contest across all its assets, and the two companies will run an advertisement during the league's national broadcasts, said Cohig. All PR and communications work is being handled in-house at the NHL, she added.

The idea for the online competition came from Discover, which was trying to figure out how to offer its card-members the “ultimate fan experience” because the company knows its customers are “passionate NHL hockey fans,” said Towson.